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Italian · VI The Beverage Tradition

Cappuccino

Italia (tradizione di caffè urbana, Trieste e il Nord-Est)

‹ The Beverage Tradition

I

Origin

The cappuccino belongs to the Italian caffè tradition, in which coffee is taken standing at the counter and, in the morning, with milk. Its name refers to the colour of the habit of the Capuchin friars, and it is the milk-coloured counterpart to the black espresso. Elizabeth David — Italian Food speaks of Italian coffee and of coffee with milk as a matter of the morning, and she does not give a date or an inventor for the cappuccino; none is claimed here. It is carried by the bar and the caffè, not by the household, and by custom it is a drink of the morning.

II

Description

The cappuccino is a single espresso, made from ground roasted coffee of the species Coffea arabica or blends with Coffea canephora, topped with hot milk whose surface has been raised to a fine, dense foam. It is served in a wide, thick-walled porcelain cup of modest size, so that the coffee, the milk and the foam remain in proportion to one another. The espresso gives the bitterness and the body, the milk the sweetness and the weight, and the foam the lid that holds the heat. It is a drink of three parts that must read as one.

III

The Thread

—Both pair a strong coffee with hot milk and are taken chiefly in the morning, the milk softening the bitterness of the roast. The café crème is usually made with more milk and little or no raised foam, so it is a longer and thinner drink than the cappuccino. French
—Both rest on the principle of balancing a dark, bitter coffee with an equal or greater volume of hot milk as the morning drink of the bar. The café con leche is commonly served in a larger glass or cup with the milk simply scalded, whereas the cappuccino depends on the texture of the foam. Spanish
—Both combine espresso with steamed milk and depend on the milk being heated to a fine, glossy texture rather than a stiff froth. The flat white carries a thin, velvety layer with little surface foam, while the cappuccino keeps a distinct cap of foam above the liquid. Australian · And · New · Zealand
IV

Flavour Context

The cappuccino is drunk in the morning with a plain brioche, a cornetto or a simple biscuit, and by Italian custom not after a meal. The reason is structural: the milk and foam coat the palate and soften the bitterness of the coffee, so the drink suits something sweet and dry, which absorbs it and does not compete with it. After a full meal the weight of the milk would sit heavily, and the short, black espresso is taken in its place.

Pillars V — VII
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